He looms over me as the marble tiles of the building façade cool my back.

“Go back to your friend, Dem. I’m fine on my own.”

His mouth falls agape before he catches my chin in his hand. “What is wrong with you?” he demands, scanning my body like maybe the answer is hidden beneath the fringe of this damn dress.

“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you?” I spit back, swatting his hand away from my face. “You’re so stubborn. You know that? That girl—that woman up there is clearly still in love with you, Dempsey! Do you think it’s random happenstance that she was here tonight? Maybe you were supposed to run into her here! What the hell are you doing wasting time chasing after me?”

The words tumble out of my mouth. I don’t even know why I’m saying any of this. I don’t want him to go running back to her. But we were only ever a summer fling. If there’s a reason the Universe brought them together tonight after all this time…

“She’s not who I came with,” he growls. “And she’s not who I’m leaving with tonight.”

I shove my hands against his shoulders, desperate to dislodge him and send him back to her. “It’s fine, Dempsey. You’re being ridiculous. Just go back in there and have a good time. You deserve to put yourself first for once in your fucking life.”

He smirks, then peels my hands off his body, one after another. “Nice try, princess.”

“I’m serious!” I insist.

“No, Maddie. I’m serious.” He pins me against the marble with his body, then slowly brushes one hand down the length of my torso. My legs part involuntarily as he travels farther south, my cunt a traitorous bitch under the spell of his touch. When he cups my pussy, I whimper.

“You listen, and you listen good.”

I open my mouth to cut him off. He pushes my panties aside and circles my clit to silence me.

“Keep that bratty mouth closed for one goddamn minute, princess, or I swear—”

I’m already slick enough to coat his hand. He pushes two fingers into me with almost no resistance.

“You.” He bows low and blocks me in, shielding us from view of the chaos and traffic of Times Square. Even if someone was watching, I wouldn’t notice. The way he’s commanding my attention in this moment—my only focus is him.

“You’re my number one, Maddie. You. This is me putting myself first for the first time in a long time. Choosing you is choosing me. And it’s fucking terrifying.” He moves his fingers in and out of me slowly, creating enough friction to make me tremble, but not enough to build me up.